Loft Progress

We're knee-deep in construction again over here but we're almost there!!! The guys from CarrMichael Construction have been moving quickly and I'm so excited about the progress they've made this week!! Our big final project is the loft, which is basically our family room. Here's what it looked like before we moved in:

Before we moved in, we added wall-to-wall seagrass to the entire upstairs so we had to take down the existing built-ins and have been living with it completely torn up (see pic below) since September. In the pic below, you can also see how pink the "beige" was compared to our ivory/cream on the right. The entire house was freshly painted that color when we bought it.

You might remember me telling you this, but we actually lived in our upstairs for a few months. In the pic above, you can see our "kitchen" (ie microwave on a dresser = true luxury!!! ;) ;) ... But living up there was a actually a really good opportunity for me to get to know the space. I'd spend every morning feeding the baby in the chair (a super comfy rocker/ glider by Lee) and looking out the window:

But we could only really see out the windows when we were in the rocker or standing up actually looking out the windows. It made me realize that I wanted that entire wall OUT so that it would feel like you were almost outside from every part of the room. (including the sofa where we watch movies from and might possibly spend waaay too much time on!!)

Searching for the right window took months, honestly. (Which is the main reason it's taken so long to get to this part of our project.) I wanted steel but we looked into more affordable aluminum look-alikes. We finally found what we were looking for at the Window Man where we settled on an aluminum window by Universal Window. Getting drawings and a quote took a long time as the team from the Window Man had to persuade Universal to sell just 1 window. But we finally got it!! It went in Monday:

{eeeeeeek!!}

And it's completely transformed the loft!!! It feels like you're outside up there!!

The guys are now working on creating the drywall framework for our bookshelves and window seat. Electrical is going in today. Here's a quick sketch of how the shelves and window seat will look:

We've modified some of the dimensions a bit to meet code (gotta love it ;) and I've sacrificed a couple inches of window seat space to make the entire thing feel a bit more seamless.

Here's a sketch I did of the back wall, where our sofa will go:

I internally debated for a while on whether I wanted a larger center set of shelves or if we should go equidistant and I finally settled in equidistant, which is different from the sketch above:

I decided to go equidistant because I felt that there was so much variation from the rest of the room with the window seat, that I wanted the rest of the walls to sort of fall in line and be consistent.

Here's the left wall, which is being worked on today:

The built-ins will actually be made out of drywall, similar to the shelves in this pic...

...except the shelves themselves will be made from reclaimed wood planks.

The window seat cushion will also sit right on a drywall ledge, similar to the one in the photo below. When you lift up the cushions, there will be hidden storage beneath.

I'll keep you posted as more things happen. Also, we are having our house photographed during the first week of August so it's pretty much just design mayhem in my head right now. All of those decisions I felt like I had so much time to make are pretty much overdue. :/

And finally, my friend Jill Sorenson of Live Like You is moving and she is having a moving sale on her blog and there are some amazing deals!!! To check out the things for sale click here. I'll miss being near Jill but am really happy for her & her son. She's a truly special person and has a beautiful bold sense of style:

I'm off for the day into the rain but hope you enjoyed peeking into our trashed in-progess place today!!

ps- For anyone worried, just wanted to let you know that we did use tempered glass and the windows do open well above where the kids can reach.

Also, I think I got an upset comment about saying this last time (and I hope that you know me well enough to know by now to know when I'm joking BUT) it's not a very far fall if they do make it out the window because although it's an upstairs loft, the ground below the window has been raised for a large garden bed. I'll be putting in the fluffiest of bushes ;) ;) (joke.)

have a good one!!

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17
comments:

oh my gosh - Lauren I have to tell you a story but you might just think we're nuts! Mom and I were at Yoga the other night and when it let out, she says to me, I know you're supposed to calm your mind but all I could think about as I am laying there is Lauren Liess's new windows in her loft. HAAAAAAAAAA. that's how monumental your windows are :)

So excited for you, Lauren! Your blog is delivered to me via Feedly, and I just love seeing it on the reading list! I know that renovations can be hard but so fulfilling in the end, and it looks like your room is going to be totally gorgeous! Can't wait for more updates.

At first I was disappointed that you made the shelves equidistant because I LOVED the sketch of the sofa wall. But then I read your reasoning for the change and thought, "she's right. The window seat wall has that look and these shelves will be better equal and mor uniform." That is why you are a designer and I am not. It's going t be amazing, Lauren. I can't wait for the finished product!

Looks gorgeous Lauren. I can totally see the direction you are going with this space - sort of a clean modern with some rustic/natural bits. Gorgeous!!!!! I am sure it will look stunning and I cannot wait to see the photo shoot - we've all been dying to see it you know! :)

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My, I really can’t wait to see it all done! Just looking at the photos makes me more excited than you, I think. Just kidding! Anyway, I really hope it’ll be done soon coz’ I think this will be a swell house. Good job! Please keep us all posted. Have a blessed weekend!

As a decorator & a textile designer, this is my place to muse... perfection doesn't interest me; Reality and charm do. Fresh floppy flowers from the garden over long-stemmed roses any day, I love it when things are slightly off and tell a story.